A grass-roots study of Japanese response to the aging society, focusing on the interplay between the changing roles of the family and government social programs is proposed. Interviews with older adults, family members and professionals will be supplemented with participant-observation of specific community programs and a review of the academic and government research in this area done in Japan and the U.S. Findings will be disseminated to scholars, professionals in gerontology and geriatrics and the public, especially American elderly and family members in the form of a book, articles and public presentations.